The Cat's Meow

I’m on my lunch break right now and thought I would blog a bit. Nothing too exciting happening at this moment besides the little pizza bagels that await me in the toaster oven. I’ve been working on html e-newsletter today…and the past few days. I enjoy learning more about html - don’t get me wrong – but when the codes don’t work like they are supposed to it drives me absolutely nuts. I’ve been working on the same problem for the past 3 days and it is driving me crazy. ARRRGH.

Anyway, I decided it was time for a little lunch break and I started doing a little research on cat condos. Yes, I said cat condos. I am bringing my cats back to St. Louis after this weekend and could not be happier about it! I’m nervous about the whole country to the city transition, but I think they will be okay. I stocked up on cat supplies at PetSmart the other day and I swear, I could spend some big bucks there. I really want to get the perfect scratching, climbing, sleeping, and playing contraption for my cats. My parents have a kitty condo (see picture), but look how much fun that cats are having. NONE. They look ticked that someone even created something so absurd for them to entertain themselves with. I need something that actually makes my cats move. I checked out the pretty pricey merchandise at PetSmart and there isn’t that much of a selection, so I took my search to the internet. I’m finding insane contraptions. I had no idea that kitty gyms, tee pees, a freakin house, (on my gawh) a cat cottage, kitty cities, and pueblos even existed. (You must take the time to check out those links!) Where do these cat home designers draw the line?

I’m going to keep shopping around to see if I can find something that is affordable and not insane. Until then, I guess the cats will have to sit on the dreadful couch....

I've been kinda busy with this little sweetie

Is she not the sweetest thing? John and I have been puppysitting since Thursday evening. Roxy's parents are flying in tonight, but it looks like their flight is delayed, so we might have Roxy for another night! We have had a few wonderful days together and I wish Roxy could extend her little stay. We bought frosty paws, went on a looooong walk, relaxed over crepes, and cuddled lots. We learned about puppy pads and tried to channel our inner dog whisperer. She is the sweetest thing and I better go enjoy her last night's stay with Auntie Whitney & Uncle Johnny!

(Having technical difficulties with the video...check back later!)

Happy Birthday, Natalie!

We met when we were 14 and before too long, I knew we would be great friends. We have hilarious high school notes, pictures, and memories. We experienced summers, concerts, late nights, college, tears, laughter, and lots and lots of dancing. We just understand each other and I'm so happy she is in my life. I'm so lucky to have a friend who has been through so much with me and that I know will always be there. Love you, Nat. I hope you have a very very HAPPY BIRTHDAY! :)

¡Felicitaciones!

So I lied when I said there was big news today on CNN. I have even BIGGER news! Tasha is ENGAGED!!! What?! I know! I said ENGAGED! I received a call this morning at work and when I saw it was her, I was a little confused because we never talk about 10:30am. Since it was a little out of the ordinary, I decided to take the call in my cube. All I can remember hearing was "I'm engaged!!" come across the phone line. I ran out of cube to go outside to giggle and celebrate with her. She was definitely still in shock and told me the story from the morning. Today, Tasha and JP celebrated their 4 year anniversary. JP got up bright and early and brought her breakfast in bed and gave her a present at 6:30am. She thought it was really sweet, but quite groggy, so she said she was going to go back to sleep for 15 minutes. JP left the room and then Tasha heard music BLARING from the living room. She thought JP had the stereo up really loud and was wondering what was going on. He called for her to come out of the bedroom. She walked out and there was a freakin' MARIACHI BAND rockin' out in living room! A mariachi band. Let that soak in. She woke up and there was a mariachi band in her house. Haha - I love it. For those who don't know JP, he is from South America and Tasha has basically grown Spainish/Latin roots since she spent a summer down in Mexico quite a few years ago. She became fluent in Spanish and loved the culture. They actually met through speaking Spanish. Four years ago, they met a big graffiti party when Tasha was visited Rose Hulman to see her sister graduate. For the graffiti party virgins, the party consists of people walking around in white shirts and using markers to write all over one another for the whole night. They were both waiting in the line to go to the bathroom and she noticed he spoke Spanish. She spoke back in Spanish and the rest is history (and they have a really cute pic from the party with writing all over their shirts-haha)! Anyway, back to my original story...JP pulled Tasha into another room and got down on one knee and asked her to marry him!!! I'm soooo happy to see someone who really feels more like a sister, than just a best friend, get engaged. JP - Job well done - I am so happy for you both :)

¡Deseo para usted una vida por completo de la aventura, de la alegría, de la salud, de la felicidad, y del amor!

¡Te quiero ambos!

...uhh if that doesn't make sense, blame babelfish!

Morning News

Well, Crawfordsville finally made it to cnn.com. Unfortunately, it is a "stupid criminal" story. He should get two points for trying, right? Usually I have to read cnn.com and then journalreview.com, but now it is a one-stop-shop! I wonder if this big news is being discussed at the Wal-Mart cafe over soft pretzels and meth?

10 Reasons Why Today Needs to be Friday

10. It’s only Tuesday and I have nothing to wear to work for the rest of the week

9. Weekends are so great, the sleeping in, the PJs, the relaxing mornings…

8. Who needs Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday? I take that back, we need Thursday to celebrate Natalie’s birthday

7. I would already know who got kicked off on American Idol

6. I would be visiting my kitties (who I desperately miss!)

5. I can avoid going to the grocery store for another week

4. Maybe eye twitch will be gone by then?

3. The Monday blues seem far off

2. Because the feeling of two days of freedom is amazing

1. I wouldn’t have to wait any longer to see my sister, Kyleigh!

Mondays are Inhumane

Only click on this if you can have your speakers on and you feel like breaking out into an uncontrollable giggle. To experience this to the fullest, make sure you let it loop a couple times. I better get back to typing in my cube.

A Breath of Fresh Air

You hungry for a little snack?















I’m sorry I have been really out of the loop lately. I tried to appease my starved-whittlesnack- site-readers with a few entertaining blogs, but I know they have been pretty lame. I’m going to try to be better because I do really enjoy keeping a blog, but lately the only thing on my mind has been my Mom’s cancer and it is really hard for me to try to think or write about much else. The last thing I want to do is write about it, but I struggle wanting to write about anything else because other things seem so unimportant in comparison. I am trying to find a balance…but right when I start feeling like I am doing okay, I feel like my feet get knocked out from under me. This whole situation has really changed the way I see life, good and bad I guess. Some days it motivates me to push harder to have good days and make the most out each moment, but other days I feel like I just want to cry because it seems so unfair and painful for my family. It is tough to realize that this is my new reality. I guess death and sickness in the family has always been “a reality” but I never saw it coming. In the grand scheme of things, we are only guaranteed so much. I think our mortal minds have trouble with these thoughts.

Anyway, the whole point of this blog is to explain the breath of fresh air I feel right now. I've had a wonderful weekend with John and a few friends. I spent most of the weekend outside, which is the best thing about Spring. We visited the botanical garden, which is currently accented by Chihuly’s glass art. I think blown glass is beautiful, so I ate this all up. Chihuly was also displayed at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens, so I saw his work there too. We spent the evening playing Guesstures and Cranium and Lindsay and I kicked some serious tail. To this date, the boys have never beat us at game night! :) Today we went bike shopping and John picked out a sweet ride. Reminds me of being a kid again – spending time outside, bikes, games…all the simple and wonderful things that made each day full of adventure.

Just like I said before, right when I feel like I gain some stable ground, my feet get knocked out from under me. I was just going to end the “happy” blog here, but I’m not going to. My friend just IM-ed me as I’ve been writing. He lost his Mother to cancer last summer and talking to him just stopped me in my tracks. He’s letting me know to spend as much time as I can with my Mom because he didn’t realize the severity of his Mother’s situation. He and I have something in common that I wish we didn’t; I don’t want to share this fate. These little reality checks really hit me hard. I felt like 5 minutes ago I was doing okay, but now I don’t know. Little things like this pop in when I am having a good day that remind me of what I don’t want to be reminded of. Most of them catch me off guard, like cancer commercials or overhearing someone’s conversation about something of the nature. Or when I went to see “The Family Stone” and thought it would be a cute Sarah Jessica Parker movie. It’s not. They don’t show you in the previews that it is actually really sad and the Mother in the movie dies of cancer. I felt tricked, I came to the movie to laugh and enjoy myself, not watch a family react to their mother’s diagnosis and death. It took everything in me not to just get up and leave the theater. This is my daily battle – and a battle soo many people experience. A battle I wish I wasn’t forced to face against my will. As I sat in the airport waiting for my delayed flight in Dallas, I met a woman who lost her Mother to colon cancer. I have to wonder if it was meant to be that we met. I will probably never see her again and I don’t remember her name. But her sincerity and compassion was so nice to receive. I can’t really explain it. It’s almost like little spurts of strength and hope surround me at times. She said she would pray for my Mom and I thanked her. It is amazing what saying hello at the airport can do for you. I was thinking about changing the title of my blog, but I’m not going to. I have ups and downs and that is the name of the game. I might find something in a couple hours that gives me the strength I need right now. I feel like I experience every feeling harder than I used to. I feel joy and love harder; I feel sadness and despair harder. The stories on the news break my heart like they never have before; at times I think I feel more compassion than ever.

I’ll post a few pictures from the weekend. I hope you enjoy them.